Sabotaged (MG/YA)

Sabotaged. Margaret Peterson Haddix. 2010. August 2010. Simon & Schuster. 377 pages.

Jonah fidgeted in his seat, and his chair fidgeted right along with him.

Sabotaged is the third book in Margaret Peterson Haddix's The Missing series. The first, Found, introduces us to Jonah and his sister Katherine. (Jonah is adopted.) It concludes with the big reveal--Jonah is one of hundreds of children kidnapped rescued by future time-travelers. These are 'special' kids taken from their time periods. There are several people from the future who have plans for these kids. (The main one is JB.) Of course, these adults don't agree! And the children can become confused on who to trust. In the second book, Sent, we learn the identities of two of the children. Chip and Alex are really Edward V and Richard, the Duke of York. The two children that were imprisoned in the Tower by their uncle who then seized the throne--yes, Richard III. The third novel, Sabotaged, introduces readers to the third mystery child, Andrea. In the first few chapters, readers learn that Andrea is Virginia Dare--the first English child born in the 'New World'. Roanoke has always been a historical mystery. What happened to those colonists? So the premise of Sabotaged is that there are three kids (and a dog) being sent back to 'fix' time. If time is 'fixed' then Andrea may just be able to claim her modern life once again. That's the plan. But with a title like Sabotaged--expect trouble and chaos.

The Missing series combines action, mystery, and science fiction. The second and third in the series have a historical setting--especially the second--but they're definitely science fiction. I didn't like Sabotaged as much as Found or Sent. I wouldn't say I was bored, but it wasn't as compelling perhaps. But that could be because I LOVED Sent so much. I found Sent so compelling, so engaging.

The ending wasn't as complete as I wanted.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews